Tag-lock.



M. 0. ANTHONY.-

TAG LOCK. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 8. 1916.

1,-9%,9?3; Patented Nov. 19, 1918.

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MARCUS O. ANTHONY, 0F ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, AS-SIGNOR TO A. KIMBALL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

TAG-LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented NOV. 19, 1918 Application filed September 8, 1916. Serial No. 119,146.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARCUS O. ANTHONY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Englewood, county of Bergen, State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Tag-Locks, of which the following. description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in marking devices and particularly tags which are adapted to be secured to articles for sale or shipment and the principalv object of the invention is to provide a means for permanently securing a tag to the article in such a manner that the tag cannot be removed without mutilating it or destroying it or the means by which it is secured to said article.

A further object is broadly to provide a locking means inaccessibly to secure together the ends of a flexible member employed to connect a tag to the article to be marked.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described having a coupling member which may readily be inserted through an aperture in the article to be marked, such as a buttonhole in a garment or the loop of a piece of lace.

More specifically the invention relates to a marking device comprising a tag strung upon a flexible member such as a cord or a piece of wire, the latter being provided with coupling members, one or both of which are adapted to be passed through an aperture in the articleand thereafter telescopically secured together in such a manner that they cannot'be separated so that the tag cannot be removed without the destruction of the tag itself, or the flexible member upon which it is strung.

The drawings illustrate preferred vembodiments of the invention.

In the drawings; Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tag fastened through the buttonhole of a gar ment by'an improved coupling member-embodyingmy invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the cylindrical plug and socket members forming the cooperating parts of the coupling devic the same being s pa ated, i J

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the parts in assembled position,

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view Show ing a modified form of my invention the coupling device havin enlarged heads and the barrel thereof being adapted to pass through the tag or the article to be marked,

to the article in such a manner that it will be at all times exposed when the article is worn, the tag being so secured that it cannot be removed without mutilation or destruction.

By this means customers may be prevented from having a garment sent out upon approval, and returning it after having worn the same.

Heretofore such marking devices have usually comprised tags secured to the garment by a string passing through a buttonhole or some other aperture located in a conspicuous place, the ends of the string being secured by a seal formed of ductile metal such as lead, the parts of the seal being interlocked by the pressure of dies.

In the use of seals of this character considerable time is required properly to assemble the seals and great care must be taken to get the interlocking members of th seals accurately and securely interengaged. Furthermore, suchseals are not entirely secure as the interlocking members may be pried apart by a thin instrument and subsequently reengaged so that detection of the removal of the device is difficult.

By the present invention I have provided a coupling member of such character that it can readily be assembled by an unskilled operator and when once assembled will retain the tag from removal unless the tag is mutilated or its securing means broken or destroyed.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the marking de:

vice comprises atag 1, secured to the buttonhole of a garment 2, by a cord 3 which passes through the aperture 4: in the tag and through the buttonhole 5 of the garment and is secured together by interlocking telescoping coupling members 6-7.

The complementary coupling members hown i ig- 1., wh c are illustra ed in de' tail in Figs. 2 and 3, are in the form of a cylindrical plug and a cobperating cylindrical socket. The plug member 6 preferably is a metallic cylinder formed of resilient material of a non rusting and non corrosive character having a curved end Sprovided with an aperture 9 to receive the end ofthe string 3 or other flexible member which supports the tag and which may be secured therein by a knot, clip, sealing wax, or other suitable means. The opposite end of the plug preferably is provided with a beveled margin 10 adapted to facilitate the insertion of the plug member into the socket.

An annular groove 11 is spun or otherwise formed in the outer surface of the plug near the margin 10 and the body of the plug is provided with slits 12 extending from the margin 10 a short distance beyond the annular groove 11 to perm'it'the sections 13 of the plug thus formed to yield sufiiciently to enable the groove 11 to engage a complementary interlocking means within the socket member. v

The socket member 7 is cylindrical in form and desirably is provided with a curved end or base 14 having an aperture 15 to receive the other end of the flexible member 3 which likewise may be secured within the socket member by a knot, clip or other suitable fastener. The socket member is proviled near its base with All internal rib or flange 16 which conveniently may be formed by spinning or die shaping. The

.rib 16 desirably extends entirely around the inner. periphery of the socket member but may be made by indenting the walls of the socket member in one or more places or by securing one or more separate pieces of metal to the inner wall of the socket member.

. Instead of having the groove upon the plug and the rib upon the socket, a reverse arrangement may be madeand the locking groove located upon the socket member, while the rib may be formed upon the plug.

In such case the rib, can conveniently be formed by flanging outwardly the marginal end 13 of the plug. v.

The coupling members 6, 7 may be of any convenient size but desirably arelarger than the aperture at of the tag so that when the cord 3 is passed through the aperture 4:

" in the tag andthe coupling members respeccord will be prevented tively secured to the ends of; the cord, the i from removal from the'tag.

In the operation of the device one of the coupling members is passed through the aperture in the garment such as the buttonh'ole 5 and themembers 6 and 7 of the couplings are thereupon forced together by the operator until the groove 11 engages and in terlocks with the rib 16 as shown in Fig. 3.

The flexible member 3 desirably is a cord or wire of sufficiently low tensile strength to break under a tension which is insufficient to separate the coupling members 6 and 7 so that the tag cannot be removed from the article without breaking the flexible member 3 or tearing out or otherwise mutilating the tag. By reason of the fact that the ends 8 and 14 of the coupling members 6 and 7 are curved, no sufiicient gripping surface is presented to enable any considerable amount of power to be applied by the fingers or by pliers to separate said members.

By reason of the fact that the interlocking groove 11 and rib 16 are located adjacent the base of the socket member it is impossible to insert a thin instrument which would serve to release said locking members from engagement. The tag locking device thus formed may be easily and cheaply manufactured and can be asse bled by unskilled labor.

In the form shown in longitudinal slit from the margin 10 a short distance beyond the annular groove 11, may extend to the curved end 8. Such'a slit not only functions to assure resiliency to the wall of the plug member 6 but also functions as a means by which the ends of the flexible member may be positioned in the plug. Inthis form, the ends of the flexible member are secured together by a knot, clip, or other suitable means, or each may have such a knot, etc., and the end portions are slipped down-the slit 12 until the knotted ends rest against the inside of the plug at the aperture 9 in which the longitudinal slit 12 terminates.

The aperture 15 is not necessary in this form and hence the socket member 7 may be without such aperture as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The plug carrying the two knotted or slipped ends is inserted within the socket member and] the ends are thereby inaccessibly retained within the locking means.

In this type the flexible member 3 is inserted in the usual manner in the tag 1, (see Fig. 5.) The doubled member is then passed through the aperture in the article and then through the tag aperture and the end portions are then inserted within the locking means effectually to prevent detachment. This type of locking means is desirable for use with the present commercial string ticket in common use and hence the locking means may be produced as a single article ofmanufacture and so placed upon the market.

In the type of locking device illustrated Figs. 5 and 6,the

in Figs. 5 and 6 the flexible member or cord 3 may be used to secure the tag to the garment to be marked either substantially in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1 or as illustrated in Fig. 5. To secure the tag 1 to the article 2 as illustrated in Fig. l the flexible member or cord is passed through both the aperture 4: in the tag and the aperture 5 in the garment 2. Each end of the cord is knotted or otherwise provided with an enlarged portion, both ends of the flexible member are then introduced into the plug member 6, the flexible member or cord being drawn up along the slit 12. The socket member is then slipped over the plug member until the internal rib in the socket member engages the groove in the plug, thereby locking both ends of the flexible member within the plug.

When used in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5 the cord is passed through the aperture in the tag 1 then both strands of the cord led through the aperture in the garment 2 and the knotted or enlarged ends carried back through the aperture in the tag and fastened within the socket member of the locking device in the manner aforesaid.

In the modified form of coupling illustrated in Fig. 4 the plug 17 is provided with an enlarged flat base 18, the opposite end of the plug being provided with flanges 19 adapted to engage a cooperating recess in the socket member.

In this embodiment of the invention the cylindrical socket member 20 is provided with an enlarged head 21 stamped or drawn to form an annular recess 22 adapted to receive the flanged end 19 of the plug. Apertures 23 may be provided in the ends 18 and 21 of the plug and socket members respectively to receive the ends of the flexible member 3 which may be secured therein by clips 24, notches or other suitable fastenings.

In this construction the coupling member may be used in the manner above described or may be inserted through the card as illustrated in Fig. 4:. If it is desired to secure the tag permanently to the article to be marked, coupling members of the type illustrated in Fig. 4 may be inserted through the card and through the article to be marked and clamped as above described. Also, where permanent marking is desired the enlarged head or heads of the coupling members may be stamped or printed with the identifying marks in place of using the tag in the manner described.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are illustrative in character and not restrictive and that the device may be made in other forms or of modified construction within the meaning and scope of the following claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new'and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is:

In a marking device of the class described in which a tag is adapted to be secured to the article to be marked by a flexible mem ber passing through said tag and said article; a locking means comprising a cylindrical tubular socket member having a closed end and an internal circumferential groove adjacent said closed end and a complementary cylindrical tubular plug having a closed end adapted telescopically to fit tightly within said socket member, the wall of said plug member being slitted backwardly from its open end and provided with a circumferential groove adjacent to said open end adapted to interlock with the internal circumferential rib in said socket member the flexible member being irremovably secured to said locking means.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

MARCUS O. ANTHONY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patent; Washington, I). O. 

